Wedding + Portrait


Direct Flash: Timeless Style or Flash in the Pan?

March 8, 2023

By Aimee Baldridge

The dynamic look of direct flash is enjoying a burst of popularity in wedding photography right now. What’s behind the fresh enthusiasm for dead-on lighting, and will it last? We asked a few photographers who love the look to enlighten us. 

NYC-based Allan Zepeda has always used direct flash, and he says that recently more clients have been reaching out to hire him specifically because they like his flash photography. “I think it adds energy, spontaneity, and excitement to photos,” he says. “It has a high-fashion feel and adds a classic touch.”

Direct Flash example of bride and groom.
© Allan Zepeda

Why classic? Southern California–based Albany Katz points out that direct flash evokes earlier eras when camera technology made it the prevalent style of lighting. “Direct flash has a very nostalgic, vintage look to it,” she says.

[Read: Trend or Fad: Is Intentional Photo Blur Here to Stay]

Its association with mid-20th-century press photography and late-20th-century snapshot photos imparts a feeling of spontaneity that Katz says clients are looking for. “I think they associate a photojournalistic candid with a snapshot,” she says. 

direct flash image of bride's legs.
© Albany Katz

It’s a look that also dovetails with the current popularity of film photography. “I have multiple point-and-shoot film cameras that have a flash built in,” says Katz. She loves the saturated colors of direct-flash shots, and with black and white, she says, “it really goes vintage looking and very photojournalistic—very Weegee, and timeless.”

flowers in fridge using flash.
© Albany Katz

Weegee would probably be surprised to learn that he became an inspiration for wedding photographers of the future, but Katz isn’t the only one drawn to his press-camera aesthetic. “My brother and I always loved looking at Weegee’s work,” says John Hong.

[Read: Trend or Fad: Analog Film’s Comeback and Why We Love It]

He and his brother serve wedding clients as the L.A.-based partnership John & Joseph, and direct flash has always been their lighting of choice. “Our clients love it and we love it,” says Hong. “I just love the way skin looks, the way black and white looks. . . . “It just has more of a highlight feel to it.”

Bride and groom at reception.
© John & Joseph

It also offers the same practical advantages for wedding photographers as it did for Weegee: “It keeps us nimble and quick, and focused on the moment and how our bride looks,” says Hong. He likes the absence of light stand clutter too. “Our weddings are pretty high profile,” he explains, “so we don’t want the room to look like anything other than what the planner envisioned.”

Oklahoma City–based Brett Heidebrecht prefers to shoot with a small camera and a wide lens, and like Hong, he has always preferred direct flash for both its look and the way it fits into his style of working with people. “I’m really close to my subjects whenever I’m hitting them with that flash,” he says, “so it doesn’t need to have a ton of power.”

wedding reception shot using direct flash.
© Brett Heidebrecht
Brett Heidebrect like shooting details at the reception with direct flash.
© Brett Heidebrecht

One thing Heidebrecht says he has been shooting more of lately with direct flash is details, especially during the reception. And Albany Katz, a Rangefinder 2022 30 Rising Star of Wedding Photography, shoots direct flash details throughout the day. “I love it for bridal detail shots—of the bride’s shoes, jewelry, makeup,” she says. The look imparts a dynamism to static shots, explains Katz, giving them a more temporal, fleeting feeling. “I want that snapshot to kind of live in time,” she says.

sparkly shoes and flowers.
© Albany Katz

While Heidebrecht is enjoying direct-flash detail shooting for now, he also thinks it’s an aspect of the trend that might have less staying power. “I think that we’ll see a time where that dies down and is not really requested or thought to be in vogue anymore,” he says. “The trends are always in the details more than in the people.”

But when it comes to capturing classic, dynamic shots of people? All of the photographers we talked to see direct flash in the same light as Allan Zepeda when he says, “It will always be a tool for photographers, and I think it will continue to stick around for weddings.”